Intern Project Continues to Progress in Urbandale

This past week the interns assembled in Urbandale to continue progress on their will-call project. While in Urbandale the interns toured the facility, met with other employee-owners to learn about their roles at Van Meter, and started the documentation process of their will-call project. This meeting brought together all 11 interns from the different branches to collaborate on the will-call project manual and create a plan of action for the next steps to be taken in the upcoming weeks. Olivia Reifert, Van Meter’s human resources intern out of Cedar Rapids, has played a crucial role in the organization of this week’s meeting and last week’s brainstorming session. Olivia has partnered with marketing intern, Michele Miller, and learning and development specialist Paul DuBois to keep the interns on track for success.

“From an HR perspective, my role in this project is to take the lead on organizing our intern project meetings, as well as ensuring that they run smoothly, and as a team, we are meeting our milestones as we progress through each step of the project and that each of these steps is properly documented. Taking on this leadership role has shown me how my role in human resources and organizational effectiveness supports the goals of the organization and impacts the success and continuous improvement of the company.”

– Olivia Reifert (University of Northern Iowa)

During their time at Urbandale, the interns were also able to have lunch with regional customer service manager, Allen Bean, to hear how Van Meter has impacted his life. Reifert distinctly remembers this experience.

“Being able to sit down with Allen was an incredible experience for myself and the other interns. Allen is so passionate about this company, and to hear how Van Meter has changed his life positively in so many ways really brings in the focus of the People P of Van Meter’s culture. He is so grateful for all of the opportunities that Van Meter has given him, and from an intern perspective it’s exciting to work for a company that has so many opportunities to offer.”

After this week’s meeting, the interns are set to move forward with the will-call project and are looking to implement the new staging process at the Waterloo and Davenport branches in the near future. The implementation of the new staging process will improve the efficiency of the will-call process and increase the trackability of packages in the warehouse. Ultimately this new process will benefit both Van Meter and its customers. Read next week’s blog to learn about the IT Department and their role in the intern project.